WIP and Angelo Cataldi still top Philly sports radio ratings, but The Fanatic is gaining ground

One takeaway from recent sports radio ratings is that there's more than enough interest in Philadelphia for two sports stations.

WIP's Angelo Cataldo (left) still holds a commanding lead against The Fanatic's Marc Farzetta. But Farzetta and his co-hosts have managed to narrow the gap over the past year.Read more94.1 WIP / NBC Sports Philadelphia (custom credit) / 94.1 WIP / NBC Sports Philadelphia

by Rob Tornoe

Published Jul. 12, 2019, 7:00 a.m. ET

The latest sports radio ratings book is out, and at this point you can nearly predict the results: 94.1 WIP tops 97.5 The Fanatic, Angelo Cataldi remains dominant in the mornings, and the duo of Jon Marks and Ike Reese topped Mike Missanelli for the second straight quarter in what amounts to a virtual tie in the afternoon.

But over the past year, ratings are up by more than a share among male listeners between the ages of 25 to 54 (the most important demographic for both stations) for The Fanatic’s two newest shows: Farzetta & Tra in the Morning and Gargano & Myrtetus Middays.

That’s a positive sign for Marc Farzetta, who left WIP last August to launch his own show at The Fanatic alongside former Eagles offensive lineman Tra Thomas and ex-Daily News reporter Bob Cooney. But despite Farzetta’s move up into third place in the market, Cataldi remains a sports radio juggernaut, and still leads his former colleague by more than three ratings share.

Missanelli once again lost by a slim margin to Marks and Reese, who finished first overall in the market for the second straight quarter. But once again, The Fanatic argues Missanelli would top WIP if Nielsen’s streaming ratings were included. But stations rarely use Nielsen’s estimates to sell ads due to their volatility and web analytics that allow companies to track the exact numbers of their streaming audience.

Regardless, Missanelli and co-hosts Tyrone Johnson and Natalie Egenolf are undoubtedly enjoying a wider audience than last year, thanks to NBC Sports Philadelphia’s simulcast, which has had no apparent impact on the show’s radio ratings.

As far as middays are concerned, WIP’s duo of Joe DeCamara and former Eagles fullback Jon Ritchie once again easily outpaced their Fanatic rivals, but Anthony Gargano and Jason Myrtetus have managed to narrow WIP’s lead slightly. The two shows finished in third and fourth place for their time slots, respectively.

Phillies TV ratings are still great, but …

NBC Sports Philadelphia is still on pace to post its highest Phillies television ratings since 2012, but interest in the team has waned due to a slump that has the team in third place in the National League East.

Through the All-Star break, the Phillies are averaging a 4.4. household rating (about 124,000 households), which is up 23 percent compared to last year. But it’s also down slightly from the 4.6 household rating they were averaging over the first two months of the season.

The team returns Friday with the first of a three-game series against the Washington Nationals at Citizens Bank Park. The game starts at 6:05 p.m. on NBC Sports Philadelphia, with a struggling Nick Pivetta taking the mound against Washington Nationals ace Stephen Strasburg.

Next week, fans will have to turn navigate over to YouTube, which has the exclusive rights to air the Phillies’ match-up against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday, July 18. NBC Sports Philadelphia analysts John Kruk will be in the booth for the game alongside Scott Braun and Orel Hershiser, though we assume MLB hopes he avoids turning to the colorful language he mistakenly tossed out earlier this month.

Job opening: Philadelphia Union mascot

The Philadelphia Union introduced their new mascot Phang during an egg-hatching ceremony back in September, but it looks like the team already needs a new body to inhabit the serpentine creature’s suit.

In a job posting on the sports employment website TeamworkOnline, the Union are looking to fill the suit with an “energetic and entertaining” individual between 5 feet, 8 inches and 6 feet tall and weighing between 140 and 200 pounds (due to the restrictions of the costume).

Ideally, the team would like to avoid hiring a new mascot who secretly hates the team on Twitter, which is what the Sixers inadvertently did back in 2015. And though it’s not listed in the job description, it seems any candidate should have no qualms about being asked to destroy a rival team’s car in broad daylight.